Tips To Make Sure Your Child Receives Enough Sleep During The Day

As we all know, young children require regular sleeping sessions which is largely due to the extreme growth that occurs within the first 3-4 years of life, and add to that the massive amounts of energy that toddlers always seem to have, and you have a situation where the body demands regular recovery periods. An hour and a half is recommended in the early afternoons, and by the age of 18 months, mum should already have established a solid sleeping routine. If you are having difficulty getting junior to take 5, here are some useful ideas to help you turn things around.

• Play Some Soft Music – About 15 minutes before the scheduled sleep time, play some slow and soothing music and sit down and relax. Whatever your child is doing, this will have an immediate effect. At such a young age, children are very audio visual and the sound of soft instrumental music will have a calming effect, and besides, this sudden change of ambience will grab their interest and he or she will naturally be drawn to join you. Actually, this is taking a leaf out of the professional’s book, as the child care centre would have this policy, and by setting the right mood, the children calm down very quickly. There are excellent Guardian child care centres in Brisbane and surrounding areas where your child can safely explore the world around them, and you can be sure the afternoon nap is part of the program.

 

• After Lunch Relaxation – This is the ideal time for an afternoon sleep, and as the child is seated and relaxed, this presents the ideal opportunity to bring the tempo down a little. The body is primed for rest and relaxation right after consuming food, and if you avoid any loud distractions at that time, and manage to keep the lighting down a little, this will help to facilitate a calmness which is the foundation for bringing on a little nap. If you are yet to be convinced that the environment is critical for sleeping, there is a very informative article that basically highlights the importance of the right ambience for sleep.

 

• The Right Diet – This is critical, and you must try to avoid allowing junior too much sugar, and especially avoid fizzy drinks, as they contain many e-numbers, chemicals that tend to stimulate a child, and besides, this will also cause tooth decay. The child’s diet should be balanced with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and whatever happens, don’t let your child govern their food and drink intake as this will be the onset of many issues.

 

• Joint Sleeping Sessions – This is a failsafe system, although mum must sacrifice an hour or so, which might be otherwise better spent, this is a guaranteed way to get a child to sleep. Mum’s close proximity will instantly calm the child, and besides, mum could do with some sleep too!

 

The above are all great ways to unwind a child, which is all they need to fall into sleep mode and by trial and error, mum can easily find a winning formula.

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